1. Shave half of my face with my solid bar Wolfman, half with my open Wolfman. Any difference? (use the same blade of course)

2. Buy 3 identical brushes. Dry one upside down, and one right side up. And, the 3rd: never wash it. Just leave the soap in after use, and use it again in 3 days. After one year, see how they’re holding up. Examine again after 2 years

I guess I’d need more than time for this one. Need the $$$ for 3 new brushes, too.

3 Shave half my face with 1 pass with a Kai blade, and shave the other half with Med Prep (also 1 pass). Same razor of course. Any difference?

4. Put hot tap water (as hot as it goes, probably around 105 degrees F. I think) into each of my scuttles. I have a 1.5 litre Dirty Bird, and an XL Schwarzweisskeramik. Make the same amount of the same kind of lather in each. Take the lather temperature after 1 minute, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes. Which one keeps the lather hotest?

The list could go on and on. And, each experiment would be interesting to perform, and interesting to review the results.

What experiments would you like to perform—or at least see the findings?

I like your ideas for these experiments! I would like to do some blind shaving soap tests to see how much of a difference (if any) I can perceive between some of my soap. And blind blade tests. I could have my wife load a few razors with different blades and then I could shave with the razors over the course of a month and write down my observations. I think it would be interesting to see how the blades performed with no expectations on my part.

I sort of did your #2 experiment due to naivety. When I first started shaving with brush and soap I had no clue there was such a thing as a brush stand (I whittled my first one out of some mahogany) so just stored the brush standing on its base. I wasn't too careful about shaking it out after use either. After several years of use it started developing male pattern baldness. It wasn't a real cheap brush, but certainly not premium brand either. When I replaced that brush I went with much better quality (Rooney, Simpson) and they have held up very well but I've been treating them right too. Frankly, I'd be reluctant to pop for good quality brushes and then give them your two and three treatment. If I ran your test with, relatively, low quality brushes I'd always wonder if premium brushes would have stood up to the abuse.

(01-28-2018, 03:27 PM)Johnny Wrote: Your third brush in that test will be pretty bad after a year.

I think it would. But, I once read on TSN that a fellow never washes his brush. He said he uses it every day, and didn't see the need. Not sure how it has stood the test of time. Wish I could find the post and contact him to get an update.

I'd like to test properly cared for Zamak razor: Pick one and shave with it every day, toweling off the exterior after every use, hanging it up between uses, and (if a 2- or 3-piece razor) putting a drop of oil on the threads every few blade changes. See how long it holds up.